Three good choices are: Buttercrunch (55-days), a small, fast-maturing, dark green bibb lettuce; Tom Thumb, (35-50-days) an easy, fast-growing miniature variety of butterhead; and Red Cross (48d), a heat- tolerant, red butterhead.
What lettuce grows best in the summer?
Heat-tolerant lettuces:
- ‘Ice Queen (Reine des Glaces)’ (Summer Crisp)
- ‘Little Gem’ (Romaine)
- ‘Marvel of Four Season’ (Butterhead)
- ‘New Red Fire’ (Leaf Lettuce)
- ‘Parris Island’ Cos (Romaine)
- ‘Red Sails (Leaf Lettuce)
- ‘Rouge d’ Hiver’ (Romaine)
- Salad Bowl Blend (Leaf Lettuce)
What is the most heat tolerant lettuce?
Butterhead lettuce is usually known for being among the most heat-tolerant and bolt-resistant of all the lettuce types.
Is there lettuce you can grow in summer?
You can grow lettuce throughout the summer without bolting with a little knowledge and a tiny bit of preparation. Imagine serving your own fresh-harvested, garden-grown lettuce throughout the summer!
What leafy greens can you grow in summer?
The Top Six Greens to Grow this Summer
- Malabar Spinach. Although Malabar appears to be a vining spinach, it is actually not a true spinach.
- Sweet Potato Greens. Sweet Potatoes have a habit of vining out if control in the home garden.
- New Zealand Spinach.
- Stinging Nettles.
- Purslane.
- Lettuce.
Is it too late to plant lettuce in July?
Summer varieties of lettuce will do great in July and August and seeds can be planted directly in the garden. Just be sure to keep the seeds moist till they germinate and get established. Most summer lettuce varieties resist bolting and tip burn.
What is a summer lettuce?
Summer Crisp lettuce varieties are all hybrid plants. That means that you can’t be a frugal seed-saver, but the plants have been bred to be extremely heat tolerant. Summer Crisp plants are also very slow to bolt and less resistant to tipburn or rot.
How do you keep lettuce cool in summer?
Keep Lettuce Plants Well-Watered
Regular watering makes plants very forgiving of high temperatures. Water evaporating from the soil provides natural cooling. Water your lettuce plants every day—and even more often if it is extremely hot and dry.
How do you keep lettuce growing in the summer?
Meet the Heat Challenge
- Grow loose leaf varieties that are heat-resistant or slow-bolting, rather than varieties that form heads.
- Use transplants or germinate seeds indoors in containers away from heat.
- Provide shade.
- Don’t skimp on water.
- Mulch lightly with an organic mulch to retain soil moisture.
What temp kills lettuce?
If the air is moist enough, freezing in this range might also involve frost, but it’s not a given. Lettuce may cope with light freezing and even one or two hard freezes, but once the thermometer reads 25°F or below, the plants are in danger.
What month is best to plant lettuce?
Lettuce is a cool weather crop and is best grown in spring and fall. The seeds germinate in temperatures as low as 40 F (4 C) but its ideal germination and growing temperature is between 60 and 65 F (16 to 18 C).
What is a heat tolerant lettuce?
Loose leaf lettuces are nutritious and heat tolerant. Plus, they are more forgiving of poor soil and imperfect growing conditions, making them easy to grow. Green Star, Magenta, Bronze Arrow Lose Leaf, Red Salad Bowl Oakleaf and Oakleaf Looseleaf Lettuce are all heat tolerant varieties that do well in late summer.
What is the easiest leafy green to grow?
Beet Greens
Beet greens are very nutritious, and they are rich in vitamin A and K. You can eat them in salads or cook like spinach or kale with onions, garlic, and olive oil. It is one of the easiest Green Leafy Vegetables you can grow.
What vegetables are best to grow in summer?
9 best vegetables to plant for summer harvest
- Sweet Corn. Don’t you just love eating fresh sweet corn straight from the garden?
- Capsicum. Capsicum love warm weather to activate fruiting.
- Tomatoes. Tomatoes are a summer favourite.
- Warm weather herbs.
- Pumpkin.
- Cucumber.
- Summer squash.
- Ginger.
What should I plant after lettuce?
For most gardeners, the best vegetables to plant after lettuce are bush beans, which germinate fast in warm soil and produce heavily in late summer. Other good veggies to plant after lettuce include carrots, cucumbers, squash or a second sowing of basil to carry you through the summer.
What do I feed my lettuce?
Lettuce needs rich, fertile soil that holds moisture, so work in plenty of well-rotted organic matter in advance. To prepare for sowing or planting, remove any weeds, fork the ground over, then sprinkle with a handful each of pelleted poultry manure and general-purpose fertiliser such as blood, fish and bone.
Can lettuce get too much sun?
Although lettuce grows fastest in full sun, it is one of the few vegetables that tolerates some shade. In fact, a spring crop often lasts longer if shaded from the afternoon sun as the season warms. You can grow lots of lettuce in a small space, even a container.
What lettuce grows the fastest?
- Oakleaf and butter lettuce are quick growing varieties of lettuce that mature in 45 to 55 days. [
- Some of the quickest growing microgreens are broccoli , radish and cress .
- You could also use a self-watering microgreens kit to make it easier.
Does lettuce need shade in summer?
Lettuce doesn’t need full sun; in fact, it’ll perform better if you give it indirect light and cool shade. Plant summer lettuce underneath tall plants or arbors, or make your own shade structure. Some gardeners keep their lettuce in container gardens, which can be moved to shady spots in warm months.
Does lettuce need a lot of water?
Lettuce has shallow roots, so plants need consistent watering. Check at least twice a week and water if the soil is dry down to 1 inch deep. Containers of lettuce need to be watered more frequently than garden beds, especially in the summer.
How much heat can lettuce tolerate?
At 70 to 80°F, the plants flower and produce seed. Lettuce can tolerate a few days of temperatures from 80 to 85°F, provided that nights are cool. Lettuce seed will germinate at 35°F, but optimum germination is 70 to 75°F. If the plants are sufficiently hardened, they will withstand freezing.
Elvira Bowen is a food expert who has dedicated her life to understanding the science of cooking. She has worked in some of the world’s most prestigious kitchens, and has published several cookbooks that have become bestsellers. Elvira is known for her creative approach to cuisine, and her passion for teaching others about the culinary arts.